


To Be Human Again

by penstrikesmidnight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Corporate Espionage, Cyborgs, Government Conspiracy, Hacking, M/M, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Oikawa Tooru's Knee Injury, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Content, Slow Build, Unethical Experimentation, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:26:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26453326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penstrikesmidnight/pseuds/penstrikesmidnight
Summary: Oikawa Tooru has very little memory of the time before he was a cyborg, and he’s fine with that. He’s acclimating to his new world well, he’s growing comfortable in his new body, he is feeling comfortable with his supposed childhood friends, and he has a new physical therapist he may have started crushing on.But people are starting to notice him, and after a string of attempts on both his and his friends' lives he has to seriously ask the question: who was Oikawa Tooru before his accident?
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s my piece for the Haikyuu Cyberpunk Bang! I’m super excited to start sharing this piece! Please check out [the amazing piece of artwork](https://twitter.com/yoriiarts/status/1305347282196484096) done by the lovely Noël!!

“Tooru. Yoo-hoo, Tooru-chan!” Tooru blinked awake when a hand passed over his unfocused eyes once, twice, three times. “Ah, there you are! Well, rise and shine, you have a client in a half hour. We didn’t want to wake you earlier. Thought you could use some rest.”

The man who had woken Tooru stood in the doorway, long and thin like a ribbon in the shadows from Tooru's room. Tooru twisted his head to take in his surroundings, finding a strange comfort in the familiarity of the bare walls. “Thank you Kuroo-san,” Tooru said once he had oriented himself. He glanced down when he heard a small meow to see Momo, Kuroo’s and Kenma’s kitten, bump her head against Tooru’s leg. Tooru reached down and stroked at her soft fur, trying to remember what had happened the day before.

Tooru wasn’t usually so depleted that he forgot how he got home, but when it happened it unsettled him for days afterward, a lingering human emotion he could have done without. Why couldn’t he feel happy or excited as easily as he felt anxious? He breathed calmly a few times, systematically pushing the emotions away and replacing them with thoughts of the tasks he knew he had coming up that night.

Kuroo hesitated as he turned to leave. Tooru watched him expectantly. He knew the humans he lived with well enough now that he didn't need a personality program to tell him how to react to them anymore. He was, indeed, truly becoming human again. "Never mind." 

Tooru wondered why Kuroo had said anything at all, but he didn’t ask. Still, Kuroo didn’t leave, a strange expression on his face as if he felt guilty for something. "You sure you're okay?” Kuroo finally asked. “To work tonight, I mean. Kenma said he would request another night for repairs if you felt...out of sorts."

"Yes, of course I can work," Tooru said, a little defensively. He wondered why Kuroo would ask him that, then wondered why he had thought to question him. Kuroo always asked after his wellbeing, even though Tooru knew it was not protocol. He didn't really know how that made him feel.

Maybe he just wanted to go back to a few weeks ago, when he didn’t have all these strange _thoughts_ and _feelings_ of his own.

In the back of his mind, Tooru was a little irritated at himself for jumping to the defensive instead of asking Kuroo what he’d meant by _another night of repairs_ , but now he didn’t feel like he could ask without sounding like he’d been irrational. 

Kuroo studied him for just a few more seconds before nodding. Tooru wanted to turn himself to the corner or close his eyes so he would not have to watch the minute human expressions on Kuroo's face. More and more, he did not like that he could not understand them.

"Kenma just finished up with your personality profile for tonight, so you should be able to pull up a link. Oh, and I made sure Suga could work close to you."

Once again, Tooru wondered why Kuroo kept trying to reassure him about something. Whatever the case, he and Suga’s personalities blended well together most times so it would not inconvenience him or the guests they were accompanying tonight, so he’d leave the questions until after he returned.

"Thank you for the information Kuroo-san. I only have one job, so I’ll be back before night's end."

Kuroo nodded. Tooru did not miss the way his mouth tightened at the honorific Tooru had tacked onto the end of his name. He averted his eyes as Tooru began the process of detaching himself from his charging ports--one on his neck, one in the small of his back, one in each joint. The synthetic skin healed back up over the plugs, a pretty distraction from his gruesome insides. Usually, Tooru didn’t much mind his new body, but seeing Kuroo turn away like that, paired with their weird non-conversation, made Tooru feel a little uneasy. "See you then," Kuroo said finally, slipping out of the doorway, Momo following at his heels, leaving Tooru cast in the muted fluorescent lights of the sterile hallway away from the humans, as if being mostly machine were catching.

***

Tooru loved and hated the personality programs of his job as Pleasure Companion Unit Level 2. He loved them because, for the duration of his shift, his mind stayed occupied with the program, engaged with his companion for the evening, and he did not even feel like the personality program covered a lie while he charmed his customers. It felt as if he could set his mind to autopilot, focus on the puzzle in front of him, and forget the strange dissatisfaction he had stumbled upon recently concerning his existence.

On the other hand, the programs usually overwrote so many of Tooru's natural inclinations he did not know whether or not they were buffing an already established emotion of Tooru's human self, or if it created a whole new feeling for Tooru to experience helplessly from his new 80-85% mechanical body. That 15-20% of humanity had really started rearing its head lately, and Tooru did not like it. Maybe he should say something to Kenma in his diagnostic test tomorrow.

Before he could contemplate his humanity further, the door to the hotel lobby opened, letting three men in suits similar to his own into the building. The two in front were boisterous, pushing at each other in the way Tooru had come to realize as playful. The man behind them rolled his eyes with a sigh. Tooru felt himself smile as his personality program kicked in.

"Are you the companion for us?" a man with pink hair asked Tooru, who nodded as he matched their descriptions in his program with the men in front of him. The man who had spoken with Tooru turned to his own, human, companion. "I told you this was him, Matsun. He's too pretty not to be."

Matsun huffed but handed over whatever money they had bet on Tooru's status of companion. "Well, that silver-haired man is gorgeous."

Tooru did a brief scan of the lobby and saw Suga sitting alone on one of the couches, watching the door, waiting for his companion for the night. "Suga is a Pleasure Companion Unit Level 1. Usually, he works at the bar with me, but someone must be paying well to have him as an escort tonight."

Matsun's face instantly changed expression. "So I was right."

"Half," the man with the pink hair said.

"But half is still half, so you at least owe me half my money back."

The third man had been silent since they approached Tooru, but this argument seemed to tip him over the edge into the conversation. "You guys are so childish. Hi." The man held out his hand to Tooru, who took it in a firm handshake.

"Hi! I'm Oikawa. I am your companion for the evening."

The man looked distinctly uncomfortable as he retracted his hand. "Um, yes. My name is Iwaizumi Hajime."

"Good to meet you, Iwa-chan!"

That got the other two's attention. Hajime's expression darkened, at the laughter or Tooru's nickname for him, Tooru could not tell. "Haha, very funny. Can we please just get this night over with already?"

"Aw, Iwa-chan doesn't seem to like having fun," Tooru said, draping his arm over Hajime's shoulders. Hajime tensed for just a second, but before Tooru could make up his mind to move, Hajime had relaxed back into a normal posture.

"Nah, Iwa-chan is a stick in the mud, which is why we hired you to loosen him up a little," the pink-haired one said. He introduced himself as Hanamaki Takahiro, while Matsun said his full name was Matsukawa Issei. Tooru did not need a refresher on names, since he had a program feeding him all their information, but humans always felt better when they introduced themselves rather than having an omnipotent being spout random facts about their lives.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa led the way into the ballroom. Tooru followed just a step behind Iwaizumi, who left a fair amount of space between him and his friends. "I'm sorry. About all of this."

Tooru glanced around in confusion, looking for a reason this human would apologize to him. "I don't understand. I am here to help you have an enjoyable time. It’s better than being behind the bar, that’s for sure."

Hajime gave a soft laugh as he ushered Tooru into the ballroom. "I mean, I didn't want to hire anyone to be a companion. It feels a little...desperate, I guess? I just got here, I barely know anybody, and I'm almost broke. But my friends told me it would help take my mind off things so I caved, like I usually do, so here we are. Sorry for the inconvenience, I guess."

Hajime looked contrite, a strangely endearing look on his lean, chiseled face, his hand raising to rest on his neck. His green eyes were very pretty, Tooru thought, almost gray in the right light. 

Tooru realized he had been staring for a few seconds longer than normal and laughed to break the strange silence. "This is my job. Of course I would love to get to know you, Iwa-chan, no matter what circumstances brought you here. And like I said, working the bar in this situation would be pretty horrible. This group will start out all refined and nice, but once they get drunk..." Tooru gave a mock shudder, satisfied when Hajime laughed at his joke, his coiled muscles loosening.

In the back of Tooru's mind, a niggling sensation told him he was not lying to the client about wanting to get to know him better, which made everything worse, but Tooru didn’t think about that, just linked arms with his client and let his program take over. He barely noticed time passing until his allotted three hours were up. He felt a strange fluttering in his chest when he waved goodbye to Iwa-chan and his friends as he got into a Public Car to go home, as if there were a bird trapped in his ribcage. It was not a new feeling, but it was definitely a much stronger one than he had experienced in a long time.

***

Kenma checked in with Tooru that night. Tooru liked Kenma, because Kenma interacted with Tooru the way a normal human would interact with another human who just needed a little help, instead of tiptoeing around him like he was a ghost, like Kuroo was inclined to do. Tooru didn’t mind Kuroo, but sometimes Kuroo got strange around him, cutting himself off mid-sentence, or talking around questions he wanted to ask. A few weeks ago, these thoughts wouldn’t have reared up so suddenly, consuming Tooru’s mind. He didn’t think he could even comprehend the feeling he was having back then. And he didn’t really like having them now. 

Kenma wiggled a plug in the back of Tooru’s hand. Kenma’s touch was always light and reassuring. Recently, Tooru had started craving contact for brief snippets of time, but he didn’t even love to _talk_ with Kuroo or Kenma without warning, much less hug them. 

“This is a little loose,” Kenma murmured with a small frown as he pressed on the cord again. His long black hair was pulled into a messy bun on the back of his head, loose strands falling into his face. “I’ll fix it tomorrow during our diagnostic. Everything else looks all right though. I was worried some of the skin grafts would peel if you worked them so strenuously so soon, but they seem to be holding up.”

Tooru rubbed his thumb over the edge of his shirt, over and over. Kenma’s touch ghosted over his arm. “I lost time yesterday.”

It was a euphemism for stating that Tooru’s memory bank had been altered or blocked in some way. It wasn’t an uncommon thing for a Level 2. For a long time, every personality program blocked Tooru’s memory bank because it could not hold so much information at once, but he had gotten used to it over time, and had even started training his brain to multitask. Usually, he noticed the strange discrepancy and watched the missing footage if it was accessible, taking note where his program had been overwhelmed so he could work on pushing through those feelings, and carried on. This time, he felt stuck in a loop, and he didn’t even know what the loop was or how to get out of it. He really didn’t like this particular feeling. It felt like dread.

Kenna’s hands stilled, the pressure heavy on Tooru’s skin. “Yes, you did. You can access it from storage, but I don’t recommend it. There was a fight last night, and you were hurt pretty badly.”

Tooru nodded. If Kenma said it had been removed for a good reason, Tooru believed him. 

The rest of the quick check continued quietly, Kenma’s hands deftly running through their processes. It lulled Tooru into a sort of trance. Most Level 2s were programmed to sleep like humans, and got tired when linked to any charging dock. For some reason, Tooru found himself remembering the man he had just met and the way his touch drifted over Tooru’s skin the same careful way Kenma’s was now.

When Kenma moved away from Tooru, Tooru felt a weird tightening in his chest. He shivered, blinking his eyes into focus. Kenma cocked his head to the side, studying him with sharp, catlike eyes. “Remember, you’re supposed to come out into the living quarters tomorrow. It should just be the three of us for most of the day—Kuroo mentioned maybe having a guest for breakfast, but we do not have any other plans.”

Tooru nodded, pursing his lips out in a pout. He didn’t particularly like having to interact with Kuroo and Kenma all day without any sort of personality program to prompt him. Kenma watched him for a few seconds before nodding back. 

As he turned to go, the tightening in Tooru’s chest became almost painful. “Wait, Kenma!”

Kenma turned back, face furrowed in a frown. Tooru glanced away, his fidgeting intensified. “I...Can I please have a blanket?”

Kenma’s eyebrows rose. “Are you cold? I can turn up the heat in your room.”

Tooru wished he hadn’t said anything. He glanced away, busying himself with untangling the cords next to his leg. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry.”

Tooru had never seen such a shocked expression on Kenma’s face before. It was quickly neutralized, but Tooru felt uncomfortable with the way Kenma looked at him now. “I’ll bring you one. Let me see if I can find something. Tetsurou usually has extras.”

Kenma came back a few minutes later with a red and black blanket with a pattern of volleyballs on it. Tooru, face flushed almost as red as the blanket, took it without meeting Kenma’s eyes. “See you in the morning,” Kenma said.

Tooru didn’t say anything back. He waited almost an hour before slowly wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, the fuzz almost painful against his nerve endings. 

***

“So,” Kuroo started as Kenma curled up with his phone next to him in bed. “Has Tooru been acting odd lately?”

Kenma thought about not answering so he could play his game in peace, but he had wanted to talk to Kuroo about this for a while. He just hadn’t expected the moment to come so soon. “Tooru’s the one who asked for the blanket.”

“I figured, since I don’t see you wrapped in it.” Kenma hit the back of his hand into Kuroo’s stomach, smiling to himself at the small _oof_ he heard in response. “Okay, I’m being serious.”

“I’m going to talk to him more tomorrow,” Kenma said. “The other Level 2s that I’ve worked with haven’t advanced as quickly or as brightly as Tooru but . . . it’s not unheard of. I mean, it’s been a few months now. How are you doing?”

Kuroo buried his face in Kenma’s hair, and Kenma knew that was all the answer he was getting tonight. He suppressed a sigh, then reached over and took Kuroo’s hand in his own, wrapping his arm around him. Kenma keeps his voice even as he says, “I know this is hard for you. We can request a transfer, if you want. We should do it sooner rather than later. So we don’t hurt him more than we have to.”

“No.” Kuroo’s voice was forceful. Kenma relaxed into Kuroo’s hold. Kuroo sighed. “No, not when he’s just getting comfortable. Not when he’s just getting better. I am happy, really, it’s just…”

“It's unknown territory. I get it. The uncertainty is hard,” Kenma said, reaching up to place a hand on Kuroo’s cheek. Kuroo wrapped his hand around Kenma’s.

“I just want the best for him,” Kuroo whispered. Kenma nodded. He did too. Sometimes, Kuroo forgot that even though he and Tooru had been closer friends—the same age while Kenma trailed them by a year, playing volleyball together while Kenma was busy building robots—Kenma had been Tooru’s friend as well. Kenma thought back to the confused expression on Tooru’s face when Kenma had left. He thought about the vulnerability Tooru had tried and failed spectacularly to mask when he had asked about his missing memories. He thought about finding Tooru broken in that alley the night before, used and discarded like trash. 

Kenma swallowed before speaking. “I want the best for him too, which is why we aren’t going to ruin any of his advances by lying or hiding. If he asks a question we need to answer it, even if it’s hard. He _is_ Tooru, just a different version. Still real though.”

Kuroo kissed the top of Kenma’s head. “Of course. Iwaizumi is coming over for breakfast. Maybe it will be good for him to meet someone new.”

Kenma smirked. “Old Tooru would have been all over that. Iwaizumi is just his type.”

“By the looks of his work log, he still is,” Kuroo said. Kenma hit him again but rolled over to press his nose to Kuroo’s chest. “Love you, kitten.”

“Love you too, Tetsurou .”


	2. Chapter 2

Tooru woke up warm. He hadn’t awakened any particular way that he could remember, but this was pleasant. He ran his fingers across the soft fuzz of the blanket Kenma gave him last night, then remembered he had to go join Kuroo and Kenma in their living space today. 

Tooru was supposed to mingle with his handlers at least two times a week for six hours at a time. He had started looking forward to it, watching Kuroo and Kenma interact with each other, studying how real humans acted instead of witnessing it in entertainment. Today, though, he still felt a little out of sorts. He would have to ask Kenma about it in his diagnostic exam. The thought curled unpleasantly in his stomach. He didn’t want to admit his…anomalies, to anyone. 

He sat up, detaching his wrist from the charging port. Technically, he didn’t have to charge by cord, everything could be done wirelessly via his bed, but sometimes he liked the grounding the cords provided him, the connection to his safest space. Tooru hesitated, hugging the blanket to himself before neatly draping it across his sleeping area. Then, he proceeded down the hallway to the shared living space. 

Kuroo’s and Kenma’s living quarters were ordinary, if a little smaller than Tooru had seen in movies and other entertainment, but much less crowded than the apartments stacked on top of each other in big cities outside the biome. The shared living space was rounded, a couch in the center facing an entertainment section in their wall. To the right of Tooru’s hallway, there was a high table and chairs set next to sleek kitchen appliances. Kenma sat at the table, glasses on, scrolling through a program imaged on the table surface. Kenma worked a lot. Tooru found him sitting there more often than not, nose buried in code, or on the couch ignoring one of his many conference calls.

Directly across from Tooru was another hallway, which led to Kuroo’s and Kenma’s room on one side, and the study where he and Kenma did weekly diagnostic checks on the other. The front door stood down another hallway to the left. 

Kenma glanced up, taking his glasses off. “Hi Tooru. How was your night?”

“Good.” Tooru looked down at where Momo had wrapped herself around his ankle and smiled softly at her before turning his attention back to Kenma. “Where is Kuroo?”

“He went to get breakfast,” Kenma answered. “We have a guest coming, so we should probably do your diagnostic now. That way you can socialize with us after.”

Tooru’s lips twisted into a pout. Kenma rolled his eyes. “Next time, I’ll have Kuroo invite Bokuto and Akaashi over if that’s how you’re going to act.”

“No, thank you. Bokuto is...loud.” And unpredictable. Tooru wanted predictability right now.

Kenma coughed. Tooru thought he was probably hiding a laugh. “Well then, quit complaining about meeting new people. I think you’ll like him, anyway.”

Tooru picked up Momo from where she was still whining at his ankles and followed Kenma toward the study. Before they entered the hallway, he heard the front door open and the sound of two familiar voices. The feeling of dissatisfaction hardened in Tooru’s stomach. 

When Iwaizumi saw Tooru, the surprise on his face hurt, just a little, although Tooru wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. He ducked his face into Momo’s soft, white fur. “Oh,” Iwaizumi said when he could string words together, “Oikawa. I didn’t expect to see you again.”

“Hey, Iwa-chan,” Tooru said, raising his eyes above Momo’s back, voice unenthusiastic. Momo let out her own unamused mewl. Tooru sighed and set her down, watching her make a beeline toward the couch before turning back to their company.

“You two know each other?” Kuroo demanded. Tooru turned his head away so he didn’t have to see Kuroo’s betrayed look. Tooru knew that the three of them had known one another before Tooru had become…this. But the memories would never return fully, he had been told. Tooru had been okay with it, until all these small emotions had started creeping into his mind, pushing out the more useful blankness and replacing it with confusion, hurt, and dissatisfaction.

Hajime’s voice drew Tooru out of his spiraling thoughts. “Makki and Matsun made me go out last night and requested a companion for me so…yeah. Tooru was my companion.” Tooru watched Iwaizumi's face turn a light shade of red. Against his dark tan skin, Tooru thought it looked pretty. 

“We need to do our diagnostic check,” Kenma interrupted. “We’ll be out in about twenty minutes, and I expect breakfast will be ready on the table when we return. I'm starving.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kuroo waved Kenma away, turning back to the kitchen. Tooru glanced over at Iwaizumi, who had turned to the counter to get food out of the bags they had brought in. Their eyes met briefly before Tooru turned and hurried after Kenma down the hall.

Tooru waited outside the door as Kenma badged in. It was the only door always locked, regulation rules. Not even Kuroo had access to it without Kenma. While he waited for Kenma to open the door, Tooru, usually one to keep himself as human as possible, strained to hear what Iwaizumi and Kuroo were talking about before the door closed and he couldn’t hear through the insulation. 

“How much of him is still himself?” Hajime asked so quietly Tooru had to turn his hearing as focused as possible to listen. No human from this distance would even know two people were conversing in the kitchen.

Kuroo’s low voice answered. “Apparently, about a third of his brain, but they tried some crazy cell growth that could develop his brain more fully. They saved a lot of his organs. All of the skin grafts are his. But...they said he wouldn’t be the same. Will never be fully . . . as human as before. Why do you ask?” 

“He seems human, is all.”

“Those programs are pretty realistic nowadays,” Kuroo said. Even this far away, Tooru heard evasiveness in Kuroo’s voice.

“That’s not really . . .” Hajime began, but before Tooru could hear more Kenma cleared his throat. Tooru jumped at the sudden sound so close to him. Kenma raised his eyebrows.

“Come on, Tooru, let’s get this over with. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m hungry.” Tooru ducked his head as he followed Kenma, making sure to turn his hearing back to normal human range.

Tooru sat in his usual chair, offering his right arm to Kenma, who plugged a few cords into him, projecting Tooru's make-up onto the wall. Mostly, Tooru saw wires and metal, connecting all of his body parts where biological processes should take place but couldn't. He watched as all the different micro-hardware in his joints gave Kenma the feedback he asked for while Kenma tinkered with the loose plug in Tooru's wrist. He felt uncomfortable that he didn't have a say in whether or not Kenma could take the information, but he pushed that to the back of his mind because he'd never had that thought before. He trusted Kenma. Kenma would never hurt him. But still. It would be nice to be asked.

"You look uncharacteristically solemn this morning," Kenma broke the silence as he tapped at a few keys on his projected keyboard. "You can't get sick with your gen mods. Are you experiencing anything out of the ordinary? Your scans look good."

Tooru shrugged his shoulders. Kenma watched him for an incredibly long time, so long Tooru felt the need to speak. "Am I… abnormal, for my kind?"

Kenma's eyes widened. He pushed his keyboard off to the side, his screens disappearing to leave the two of them alone in the study. Tooru felt as if Kenma had stripped all the protective layers from around both of them, leaving them naked in front of each other. Tooru folded his arms in front of his chest as if that would help. 

"Yes and no," Kenma answered. He studied Tooru's expression for another moment, but Tooru wasn't sure what he was looking for. "Most Level 2s develop some cognitive functions outside of what they are programmed with, and can even remember a lot of their lives depending on what parts of the brain survived. But the brain is a tenuous science at best; the truth is, we don’t have an answer for what’s going to happen with you. You are developing…rapidly, and more independently than usual. It is not a bad thing--it is exactly what science has been looking for. Just ask questions when you feel curious or uncomfortable. Maybe to people you know well at first. Me, Kuroo, Bokuto, Akaashi. Iwaizumi, if you trust him. Daichi and Suga."

"Okay," Tooru agreed. He felt somewhat better, but still untethered, disconnected from everything. He ran his fingers across the plug into his wrist to make himself feel grounded. But he did wonder now what he had been like before. What his relationship with Kuroo and Kenma had entailed.

"You should come out of your room more often,” Kenma said, startling Tooru out of his thoughts. “I think that will help you feel more integrated. Do you have any other questions before we go back out?"

Tooru almost shook his head no but hesitated. "How do I…know, what’s really me and what a program has done to my emotions?”

Kenma bit his lip. He looked as uncomfortable as Tooru felt. “I don’t really know. I will make it expressly clear to you when you have had a program installed. But, Tooru, at this point your emotions are probably just yours. You may have held onto emotions you felt artificially, but nothing is stopping you from feeling them or not feeling them now. It’s like…going back to school after a long break. You are given things--emotions, in this case--to work with, but only your brain can recall them later, or choose not to. I’m not the best person to ask—we can set you up with a psychologist who works specifically with Level 2s."

Tooru took his wrist back when Kenma unplugged him, massaging it gently even though it did not hurt. It felt like it should. Kenma continued talking. "Bokuto should know some people. Iwaizumi works with Level 2s as well. You could talk to him."

Tooru sighed as Kenma stood up, making it clear they were ready to go back out and socialize with Kuroo and Hajime. Kenma gave a soft laugh. "This is not the end of the world. You should integrate yourself into our family. Kuroo and I consider you family, and so does Momo. She likes you the best anyway."

Tooru sighed more dramatically but stood up. "I'm hungry, so I guess I can join you." Kenma smiled, gesturing for Tooru to lead the way out the door. Nose in the air, Tooru did just that.

Tooru took his usual seat at the table, which happened to be next to Hajime. "So, Iwa-chan, you found me so irresistible you couldn't stay away, huh?"

Hajime rolled his eyes. "You don't have to call me that. Hajime is fine."

"But Iwa-chan is cuter," Tooru said, reaching over to take a scoop of eggs from the bowl in front of him. Technically, Tooru didn't need to eat to keep his body alive, but he liked eating. Specifically, he liked eating sweet things. Also, he had noticed that his skin looked better if he kept up a healthy diet. Because the quality of his skin was important for his job.

Hajime looked like he wanted to say more but just turned back to dishing hash browns onto his plate instead.

"So, Iwaizumi, how was the trip?" Kenma asked. "I thought you weren't coming out until midsummer."

Hajime shrugged. "They wanted to transfer me early and Makki and Matsun were coming back, so I thought why not? There's a shortage of PTs here for high artificial levels and I had the most experience."

Kuroo smirked. "Hmm, Tooru's knee has been bothering him. Maybe he should come see you."

"Hey!" Kuroo lifted his eyebrows, daring Tooru to tell him off. Tooru pursed his lips into a pout. Hajime turned to Tooru, eyebrows creased.

"I noticed by the end of the night you favored your right knee. After we eat I can take a look at it."

Tooru felt his cheeks heat up. “Iwa-chan paid a lot of attention to me last night, didn’t he?”

Hajime’s small grin didn’t look embarrassed in the least. “Sometimes when I’m uncomfortable, I notice body language. And Level 2s are especially interesting because their boundaries are harder to define because of their muscle-metal fusion. It’s fascinating really.”

Tooru didn’t say that he wished he were all human with no metal because that would not produce any sort of positive table conversation, at least for himself. These three might love the topic, but Tooru had felt too vulnerable the past few hours to open himself back up.

So he joked his way through the moment, like he was usually programmed to do. “If Iwa-chan wants to see more of my skin, all he has to do is ask.”

Hajime raised his eyebrows. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Tooru snapped his mouth closed, scowling when Hajime grinned at him across the table.

The rest of the meal went well. Tooru didn’t have to talk much, which was fine, because he was fascinated with the little bits of Hajime’s life that he shared. He learned that Hajime had lived in Tokyo before moving to the biome, that before that he had lived in a more rural area of Japan, and knew Daichi and Suga as well. Tooru wondered if he had ever met Hajime before, but he didn’t want to ask the question. By their interactions, it seemed like they hadn’t known each other well, if they had at all. He would ask Kuroo later what their relationship was.

When breakfast ended, Hajime turned to Tooru. “Are you ready for me to look at your leg?”

Tooru sighed. “You really aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

Hajime smiled and shook his head.

Tooru had hoped Hajime would have forgotten about his knee, but clearly he had not. With another longer and louder sigh, Tooru led Hajime over to the couch, sitting awkwardly. Hajime knelt down on the floor. Momo came over and jumped onto the couch, making herself comfortable on Tooru’s lap. Hajime cocked his head to the side, watching Tooru pet Momo for a few seconds before turning back to Tooru’s leg.

“Do I need to do anything?” Tooru asked finally after a few seconds of strained silence.

Hajime shook his head, pulling Tooru’s sweatpants up past his knee. He started gently massaging Tooru’s leg, which felt weird. It took everything in Tooru to not pull away from the touch. “Relax,” Hajime said softly, cupping Tooru’s calf. Momo meowed as if in agreeance.

Tooru let out a shaky breath. “I just...people don’t usually...touch me, is all. Unless I’m working, and then I have a program so I don’t feel it as much.”

Hajime hummed. Tooru braced himself for something, but all Hajime said was, “That’s understandable. You haven’t been exposed to much since your modifications, have you? How long have you been working?”

Tooru glanced up when he heard Kuroo huff softly. He was hunched down, holding his stomach, which meant Kenma had probably elbowed him. Tooru rolled his eyes and turned back to Hajime. “About two months.”

His words were cut off by a sharp pain that jolted through his body. He hissed. Momo jumped off his lap in alarm at his sudden movement. Hajime nodded, smoothing his thumb more gently over the area. “Do you like it?”

“Do I like my job?” Tooru clarified. Hajime nodded. Tooru fisted his hands as Hajime continued kneading through the painful spot on Tooru’s knee. “I guess. I mean, I like meeting new people. Sometimes they get a little entitled, but that’s to be expected.”

Hajime clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Your boss should take those instances seriously. Is it the same people every time?”

Tooru fell back into the couch, allowing Hajime to move his leg at will now that he was sure Hajime knew what he was doing. “Yeah, technically the harassers don’t ever have the same escort or server if we make a complaint, but sometimes making a complaint is more trouble than it’s worth.”

No one had ever asked Tooru how he felt about his job. Tooru himself hadn’t known he’d had such strong feelings until Hajime had gently coaxed his answer out of him, just like he was coaxing Tooru’s knee to work properly. “It seems like this might have been a pretty harsh break and they tried to save as much of your leg as possible. Shoddy fix up. I’m surprised. The rest of your body seems flawlessly put together.”

Tooru folded his arms over his chest, refusing to answer. 

“Is it the ankle on the same leg that’s giving you problems?” Hajime finally asked.

Tooru nodded. Hajime sat down fully, taking Tooru’s foot in his hands. He proceeded to do a similar routine to the one he had just finished on Tooru’s knee. “Yeah, I think you just need to work them out every day, and go easy on them. No strenuous jumping or running long distances until the muscle heals.”

“Yes, Dr. Iwa-chan,” Tooru answered primly, smiling when Hajime laughed softly. He stood up. Tooru stood with him, gingerly putting his weight on the leg Hajime had just worked. 

Hajime chuckled when Tooru looked up at him in surprise. “I didn’t do anything crazy to it. You should feel about the same. Just make sure to stretch it.”

Tooru nodded. “Thank you,” he said, more serious than his last flippant reply, watching the way Hajime’s mouth ticked up at the corners. Tooru glanced away quickly, down at the floor, schooling his features into something less vulnerable before looking back up at Hajime. “Will I see you around?”

Hajime shrugged. “It’s a small biome. I’m sure we’ll cross paths again at some point. Here’s my card. Make an appointment with me and we can get you on a schedule.”

Tooru wrinkled his nose but took the card. He opened his internet feed and pinged Hajime via message, smiling when Hajime pulled out his phone and accepted. He followed Hajime to where he’d put down his bag, watched as he slung it over his shoulder and requested a cab.

“Thanks for breakfast,” Hajime said to Kuroo and Kenma.

“Anytime,” Kuroo answered.

“Especially if it gets our resident shut-in to come out and associate with us,” Kenma said, shooting Tooru a smug glance. Tooru couldn’t resist sticking his tongue out at him.

Hajime laughed softly. “Well, it’s nice to have made a friend so quickly. Make an appointment, Tooru. First one can be free.”

“Bye Iwa-chan!” Tooru said, forgetting that he was going to pretend to be nonchalant as Hajime walked out the door, waving as if this were his own house and he was the one saying goodbye to their guest. When he turned back around to Kuroo and Kenma, they were both staring at him, Kenma with his usual nonexpression and Kuroo with a smug grin. “What?” Tooru asked, bewildered.

“ _Oh, Dr. Iwa-chan, when am I ever going to see you again_?” Kuroo said in a high-pitched voice that Tooru knew was supposed to be a poor imitation of his own. He pouted, folding his arms tightly over his chest.

“Stop, Kuro,” Kenma said, but he was smiling. “Tooru still has the rest of the day to spend with us. We can’t scare him away now.”

Tooru groaned, but the morning had actually put him in a good mood. If he kept getting distracted by thoughts of Hajime’s warm hands on his leg, no one needed to know.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments/kudos always welcome!


End file.
